THE Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has approved the application of San Carlos Sun Power, Inc. (Sacasun) to develop, own and operate a point-to-point transmission facility that will connect its 48.6-megawatt (MW) solar power plant to the Visayas grid.
“An approval of the instant Application will redound to the benefit of the consumers as it will translate to continuous, quality, reliable, and efficient power supply,” the ERC said in its decision.
Sacasun is among the solar farms that failed to secure a certificate of endorsement from the Department of Energy (DoE), an approval that would have paved the way for the company to receive a guaranteed rate of P8.69 for every kilowatt-hour it produces for 20 years.
The solar company, which is based in Barangay Punao, San Carlos City, Negros Occidental, plans to construct the dedicated facility along the San Carlos-Guihulngan 69-kilovolt (kV) transmission line.
The point of interconnection will require the construction of two 0.6-kilometer 69 kV lines. The solar plant intends to simultaneously inject power toward the Amlan and the San Carlos substations.
Aboitiz-led Sacasun will be spending around P84.37 million, which was arrived at only for the purpose of computing the applicable permit fee, which the ERC set at P632,797.82.
The company said although it filed for feed-in-tariff (FIT) eligibility with the DoE, the application is yet to be approved. In the event the project becomes FiT eligible, Sacasun said the cost of the limited transmission facility would be considered once the asset is transferred to privately owned National Grid Corporation of the Philippines, the grid operator, and National Transmission Corp., owner of the country’s transmission assets. — Victor V. Saulon
